To celebrate our 45th anniversary (could it possibly be so long ago?) we decided to try camping in the insurance man's stomping grounds, Harney County.
We traveled 22 miles or so south of Burns, to a campground at The Narrows. This was named for a small spit of land dividing Malheur and Harney Lakes. It no longer is the only division, as the Lakes have shrunk over the years, but is stilled called the Narrows. There is now a restaurant/gift shop, and campground there, where once was a small thriving town at the turn of the 20th century.
This is High Desert Country, with only scrub, sagebrush and field grass in sight. The owners of the campground have planted, watered and tended trees to suit the desert environment, making our campsite shaded and pretty. The above tree (unknown species to me) was so pretty with dusty sage green leaves and dark red berries. I loved sitting beneath it and watching the birds come and go with beaks full of berries.
As you can see there were not a lot of people here, making it quiet and peaceful with only the coyotes calling at night. I loved seeing the blue skies from horizon to horizon full of bright sun in the daytime, as it traveled from sunrise to sunset.
We had decided on two of our favorite pastimes, mine a bit of solitary reading and relaxing and his going out to hunt for arrowheads in the desert (on private land with permission.) He got up early on Saturday and Sunday to head out, while I slept in until I wanted to get up to read and write letters. He came in around lunch time each day to clean up. His parents, Larry and Bethel drove out to join us for lunch on Saturday at the restaurant and then a bit of chatting and dozing at our campsite before returning home.
A perfect anniversary breakfast for one!
This is some beautiful country, for those who know how to appreciate it. After Mom and Dad left, we took a long drive. The above photo is green irrigated area with the Steens Mountains in the background. The 'notch' you see in the Steens is called Kiger Gorge and is famous for it's wild mustangs. The view from up there includes 3 states.
Some famous Harney County sites, and yes the population of Diamond does say 9. That's because there's not much of a town, but most live on ranches in the beautiful Diamond Valley.
The insurance man came back on Sunday with a big smile on his face. These were his reward, and boy did it make him happy. He is really good at finding these and appreciating the Native American work. (If you click on the photo to enlarge it you can appreciate them too!)
A campfire at night, in the belly of an old re-used wash machine basket, was just right before bed. We started before sunset, then watched a desert sky as it finally darkened and the summer stars appeared.
We were blessed with perfect weather and no bugs to speak of. After returning to Burns on Sunday, and a Chinese dinner with Mom and Dad, we left for home satisfied and still in love after 45 wonderful years.
